Federal EIN

An Employer Identification Number—also called a Federal Employer Identification Number—is used by the Internal Revenue Service to identify your company for federal tax purposes. It is essentially a Social Security Number for businesses.

An EIN is obtained by filing the Form SS-4 with the IRS, which can be done online. While most businesses will need an EIN, not every California LLC or corporation does.

Do You Need an EIN for a California Business?

The IRS has specific criteria for which companies need an EIN and which do not. The following criteria are from the IRS itself. If your business falls into one of the following categories, you will need to obtain an EIN.